


The other side of the coin

by flightinflame



Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Still Have Powers, Car Accidents, Charles Xavier in a Wheelchair, Erik is a Sweetheart, Hurt Charles, Injury, M/M, Protective Erik, Single Parents, Swearing, dadneto
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-06
Updated: 2019-12-06
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:02:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21688795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flightinflame/pseuds/flightinflame
Summary: Alex knows he's damn lucky to have this job. Sure, the boss is kind of a dick, but he's a dick to everyone, and Alex appreciates him. He just can't believe the man has a softer side.
Relationships: Armando Muñoz/Alex Summers, Erik Lehnsherr/Charles Xavier
Comments: 17
Kudos: 200
Collections: Secret Mutant Madness 2019





	The other side of the coin

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by [Hqwhna](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hqwhna/pseuds/Hqwhna) in the [secret_mutant_madness_2019](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/secret_mutant_madness_2019) collection. 



> **Prompt:**
> 
> Erik is an engineer and the intimidating boss at Stark Industries. All the employees think he’s heartless until he gets a call at work telling him that Charles was hit by a drunk driver and he’s in the hospital and he freaks out, crushes all the metal in the area, etc. He doesn’t come to work for a few weeks so the employees come to visit him at the hospital and meet Charles and their toddler Lorna for the first time.

Alex knew he was damn lucky to have this job. There were a lot of people who wanted it - a paid internship at Stark Industries. More than that though, only an idiot would hire a nineteen year old dropout with a criminal record, a mutation, a boyfriend, and a one year old son with sight issues. Sure, it was a tough job, and his boss was kind of a dick. But he was a dick to everyone, not picking Alex out because of being a freak, or a queer, or a criminal, or a single parent. In fact, most of the employees in the department were at least one of those things. Mister Lehnsherr tended to hire 'troubled mutants' that were considered unemployable, and even though that had sounded pretty damn shady when he first heard about it, it turned out that the bastard was actually not shady in the least. Something about being happily married, with a kid of his own. Alex didn't push into it, he didn't care about gossip. He cared about getting paid, and learning, and not fucking up the second chance he'd been given at life. Sure, the boss yelled, but he yelled at everyone.

So he didn't have much to complain about. He learned to keep his head down, and be polite, and when he'd had to miss a week because Scottie was really sick, not only had Mister Lehnsherr not fired him, he'd paid Scott's medical bills, and even paid Alex for the work he'd missed. Really, he was a damn good boss, for all he got angry at any mistake and was kind of rude and abrupt. So Alex tried to do well, to work hard and make him happy, because losing this job would be awful. 

The man seemed to only care about his job, and wanted everything done perfectly, but that was fine, Alex could do that. He cringed when Sean had made a dumb mistake, and been shouted at in front of everyone, but apparently the boss had apologised after. It wasn't Alex's problem. 

Darwin was staying at home with Scottie while Alex worked, and then after he got home in the evening, Darwin could spend a few hours working as a taxi driver. It meant they got hardly any time together, but they were getting the money they needed to put a deposit down on somewhere to rent, and to pay back the debt Alex still had from Scottie's earlier treatments. 

He was sat making some notes on the latest parts manual, comparing it to the previous ones to see what had changed and to work out the impact it would have on their production. He felt like he was too stupid to do it, but it was what Lehnsherr had told him to do, and he wasn't gonna fucking argue with the guy that paid him. He looked up to see the boss's secretary, Miss Frost - the Ice Queen, answering the phone, and then rushing across the hallway. Lehnsherr came out of his office before she reached the door, and Alex didn't think he'd ever seen anyone look so emotional.

He ducked under his desk on instinct, relying on old habits to protect him. A moment later there was a sharp pain in his wrist. He looked down to find that the fastening of his watch was stabbing into him. He could hear yelps of pain from elsewhere. He got to his feet, frowning, and saw that the entire room was shaking, the metal moving. 

Mister Lehnsherr was hovering above the ground, his face contorted with a silent scream. Then there was a burst of smoke, and Erik was gone.

***

They'd been sent home from work for the rest of the day, with promises of new watches and jewellery to replace what had been destroyed, and a guarantee that if anyone needed something repaired for sentimental value it would be done. They were told to take the next day off as well, and Alex had spent a lazy morning in bed with Darwin, and then taken Scottie to the park. 

The next day they were back at work. Miss Frost had called them all together.  
"Thank you. I'm sorry about the events of Tuesday. Mister Lehnsherr's partner was... involved in a car accident. He is still in critical condition, but he is stable. It was a drunk driver." She swallowed slightly. "His legs are badly damaged. Their daughter was in the car, but she is mostly uninjured, with only a broken arm. She is very shaken. Mister Lehnsherr will not be at work for the next few weeks."

"They catch the fucker?" Alex called out, and saw Miss Frost's lips twist into a faint smile.

"They did, luckily for him," she nodded. "I'd appreciate all of you doing your best until he returns, but I will be sending him regular updates. Please don't make this harder than it needs to be." There was a tinge of threat to her voice.

Alex shrugged, and went to work. He wasn't going to fuck up this job. 

***

"Hey, Alex," Angel was leaning against his desk, her fingers drumming on the table. "You know, we've been worrying about the boss. Well, Sean's tracked down what hospital he's at. We're going later."

"I've got to look after Scott-"

"I sorted it. Sean called your boy. Darwin's going to drive us there for his first job, and we can take Scott in with us." 

Alex sighed, and nodded. He didn't want to get in trouble, but if Darwin was bringing Scott that meant he had to be there for the handover. 

Angel grinned, and patted his shoulder, and sashayed away. Alex watched her go, and hoped he was doing the right thing. Maybe visiting would be polite.

He didn't have much fucking choice. So he went to the hospital. And he followed the others, and they went to the private room.

Mister Lehnsherr was sat by a bed, where a man was propped up, the lower half of his body wrapped in casts. There was a woman with blue skin sat beside him. It took a moment for their presence to be noticed.

Angel stepped forwards.   
"We brought grapes. And we.. we miss you sir."

"Thank you." Mister Lehnsherr muttered, smiling a little when he spotted Scott, and sitting up straighter. As he did so, Alex spotted that there was a little girl hiding beside his chair. Her hair was a brilliant shade of green, which matched the cast around her arm.

"Hey," he greeted her, before remembering that a man like Mister Lehnsherr probably didn't want someone like Alex socialising with his kid.

"Don't be silly," the man in the bed said, groaning slightly. "You must be Alex, and Sean, and Angel, and that little one must be Scott... well, Erik has told me all about you, and he speaks very highly of you..."

Alex frowned, spotting the wheelchair. He wondered if that was just temporary, or if the accident had-  
"Actually," the man on the bed interrupted. "I have been using a wheelchair for a while, thanks to a spinal condition. That one is one of Erik's own inventions. So at least I haven't actually lost the use of my legs from the accident. Small mercies." He held out his hand. "Charles Xavier. A telepath."

Alex nodded, and tried very hard not to think about how on earth Charles could have been driving if he used a wheelchair.

He was presented by a mental image in explanation, and ducked his head slightly, tightening his grip on Scott, hoping that Mister Lehnsherr wouldn't find out.

"None of you are in trouble," Charles said softly. "It's... good, to know that people care about my husband enough to check on him."

Erik nodded.   
"I'll be back to work on Monday, although I'll only be doing half days for the foreseeable future, I've spoken to Tony about it." He paused, and looked at them. "Emma tells me you've been working hard. Thank you."

Alex nodded, bouncing Scott in his arms.  
"It'll be good to have you back," he mumbled.

Erik looked at him and nodded, then frowned a little, glancing towards Charles.   
"Alex, do you think your partner would be able to babysit Lorna occassionally? Well paid, of course. We can look into setting up a creche, but until then-"

"He'd like that," Alex answered with a shrug. "He's not qualified, but he's got siblings and he's great with Scottie."

"We'll see what we can do. You think he'd like to become qualified and work at the creche? The hours would be better for you both-"

Alex considered, thinking of being able to spend time with Darwin more often.  
"That sounds perfect. Thank you."

Charles smiled at him, and Lorna toddled over to say hello.


End file.
